Medical examiner: Wounds, alcohol led to death

Wednesday

Jan 11, 2017 at 6:32 PMJan 11, 2017 at 6:32 PM

“He wouldn’t have been dead — if he would’ve stayed on the boat, he wouldn’t have drowned,” Dr. Jay Michael Radtke said, ultimately attributing Morrell's death to accidental drowning, with alcohol intoxication a contributing factor.

By Zack McDonald | 747-5071 | @PCNHzack | zmcdonald@pcnh.com

PANAMA CITY — Several wounds on the body of a man found floating in the shallows of North Bay were consistent with being stabbed by a flounder gig moments before his death, the district's medical examiner testified Wednesday.

It was part of the second full day in the homicide trial of 37-year-old Mary Arlette King. She is charged in connection with the October 2015 death of her then-boyfriend, 45-year-old Timothy E. Morrell, who was found stabbed, slashed and face-down in the shallows of North Bay. King faces charges of principal to manslaughter and aggravated battery, and could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Authorities, with help from a confidential source, connected Morrell’s wounds to a “duck bill knife” and a flounder gig recovered from the home of King’s co-defendant in the case, 20-year-old Thomas Lee “Booger” Hutchinson. The three had been out drinking on an illicit alligator hunting and crab poaching excursion, according to police reports, when something went awry. King later told police she and Hutchinson were upset Morrell caused their boat to take on water, so Hutchinson slashed Morrell with the knife and she stabbed him with the gig — but only once.

However, 14th Judicial Circuit Medical Examiner Dr. Jay Michael Radtke on Wednesday detailed several more sets of what he called “puncture wounds” that were consistent with a weapon similar to a flounder gig.

As the gruesome pictures unfolded before the jury, King looked on stern-faced. In the pictures, Morrell’s face was smeared with blood, and his body showed the physical effects of drowning. He had been slashed with a blade down the length of his back and on his left bicep. Just below his right eye, Morrell suffered a deep gash similar to those on his chest and right hand and forearm.

Radtke told jurors the spacing between each of the damaged areas, including the right hand and forearm — which he said appeared to be defensive wounds — were similar to the distances between the spikes on a flounder gig. Radtke said because of the bruising around the wounds, Morrell must have suffered the injuries while alive. He fell short, however, of finding they caused Morrell’s death.

“He wouldn’t have been dead — if he would’ve stayed on the boat, he wouldn’t have drowned,” Radtke said. “Without being in the water, his death would have never occurred.” Radtke ultimately attributed Morrell’s death to accidental drowning, with alcohol intoxication a contributing factor.

Prosecutor Bob Sombathy made the case that Morrell would not have disembarked had Hutchinson and King not attacked him and threatened further violence. Defense attorney Richard Albritton III, on the other hand, attempted to diminish the severity of the injuries and argued that Morrell left on his own accord after an argument, drunkenly swam off and drowned.

Morrell’s blood alcohol content at the time of his autopsy was about 0.3 percent, more than three times the legal limit of .08.

King’s trial continues today with closing statements.

Hutchinson has been charged with manslaughter, aggravated battery and molesting crab traps. His jury trial has yet to be scheduled.